3 charged in Oxford ‘brutal rape case’ in court before trials begin

Three men charged with dozens of crimes for an alleged February 2017 sexual assault in Oxford were in court Thursday for a hearing before their trials begin later this month.

Roger Richard Michael Simpson, 23, of Cincinnati, is charged with 23 felony crimes, including 10 counts of rape, sexual battery, complicity to rape and kidnapping. His trial before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster is scheduled to begin March 20.

Elijah Lee Mincy, 21, of North Campus Avenue, Oxford, is charged with 23 felony crimes, including three counts of rape, complicity to rape, sexual battery and kidnapping. His trial is scheduled to begin April 17.

Rodney Adrian Louis Gibson II, 21, of Cincinnati is charged with 26 crimes, including two counts of rape, sexual battery, kidnapping and complicity to rape. His trial is scheduled to begin April 24.

All three men remain housed in the Butler County Jail on high bonds set by Oster when the indictments were unsealed in July.

The Thursday hearing was to consider a motion to suppress statements Mincy made to Oxford police alleging he was not advised of his Miranda rights before he made statements that could be considered incriminating.

The allegations involve a single victim, a 19-year-old woman who was visiting Oxford on Feb. 11 and 12, 2017. The assault occurred in an off-campus apartment complex at 3770 Southpointe Parkway, according to Oxford police.

“This is a very brutal rape case,” Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said last summer when the indictment was announced. “One of the worst this office has seen.”

Police were called to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital during the early morning hours of Feb. 12, 2017, to investigate a reported sexual assault, according to Oxford Police Chief John Jones.

The victim was intoxicated at a party at a residence at the apartment complex and became separated from her friends, according to police.

The men are accused of luring the teen to another residence and sexually assaulting her, according to Oxford Police Chief John Jones said.

Jones said the case was presented directly to a grand jury after a lengthy investigation that included search warrants, interviews and forensic analysis.

The 72-count indictment was handed down by a grand jury on June 14, but it was sealed until the suspects were arrested, according to the prosecutor’s office.